Donors and supporters of your fundraising activities will act as valuable advocates, helping to spread awareness of your fundraising projects. However, unfortunately, there are occasions when fundraising campaigns are met with resistance, and unless you engage with those who are opposed to your plans, listen to their concerns and deal with their needs, your fundraising plans will encounter some hurdles.

Having a clear vision will be key to engaging with your stakeholders effectively and it will also help ensure that the process will be meaningful for all involved. This vision should be borne out in your fundraising campaign’s case for support which you should present to your stakeholders at the earliest opportunity. Engaging with stakeholders from the outset will help them feel part of your fundraising campaign’s journey. 

Never assume you know all of your stakeholders immediately (you never know where support or opposition may creep out of the woodwork). It is well worth spending some time doing your research to ensure that you have considered all groups that may be impacted by your campaign. This process often forms part of a resources study (please click here to read my previous article on this subject).

As part of your planning process, it is important to map out all of your internal and external stakeholders and:

• analyse their differing interests, needs and expectations,
• assess how their interests could affect your fundraising campaign, and
• prioritise your key stakeholders and develop a strategy for managing the relationship

You may find it helpful to group your stakeholders according to their levels of interest and influence. Stakeholders with low interest and low influence may only require information. Whereas you will need to adopt a different approach for those with high levels of interest and influence. For example, if they support the project, you may wish to recruit them as a campaign ambassador. However, if they object to the campaign, you will need to consult and influence them to reach a mutually beneficial outcome.

We have been involved with several campaigns where the relationship with stakeholders was such that, before the fundraising campaign could fully commence, a programme of bridge-building and information dissemination had to be implemented in order for things to progress positively.  Delays such as this must also be balanced with maintaining enthusiasm of the organisation promoting its project and its supporters, who often just want to get on with it. Consequently, they may need as much information as the external stakeholders!

St Mary’s Church in Kings Worthy, Hampshire, had ambitious plans for new facilities to help expand its congregation, and to include more young people from the parish. However, the fundraising campaign initially stalled because of strong local opposition to the plans. Our first task was to ensure that the project was well-defined and that all church supporters, and as many local residents as possible were in agreement with these aims. A good solid base of local support was created, which made the task of advising the campaign leadership a great pleasure for us. The original target was £265,000, but this was exceeded as the campaign raised more than £450,000 enabling superb new church rooms to be built (click here to read more about this case study).

We have also been involved with clients where, as a result of a well-executed stakeholder engagement programme at the outset of the campaign, the fundraising campaign has grown in size and revised fundraising targets exceeded. For example, during a fundraising project for Norwich Cathedral, it became apparent that stakeholder engagement and support was such that they saw the fundraising campaign as a once in a lifetime opportunity to expand the campaign and raise more funds. Rather than raise the initial target of £4.75 million to renew an area where monastic buildings once stood, the fundraising target was revised to £10 million. Not only was this target achieved, but an additional grant of £2.3 million was secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The funds have resulted in a superb new Refectory, new library facilities, a Hostry building with new facilities for visitors, exhibitions, music and education, as well as urgently needed repairs to the Cloisters (click here to read more about this case study).

Stakeholder engagement is a critical factor in the success of any fundraising campaign. Ignoring or not addressing a stakeholder’s needs and expectations will only hamper any fundraising efforts. By identifying and engaging with stakeholders early, you can save a lot of time, resources and stress, allowing you to focus on generating funds and reaching your goals.

24.04.2017

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